


Breaking Ground

by Junkandstuff



Series: Building a Future Together [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Online Dating, Yeah its odd but its explained later, adult characters, background toph/suki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junkandstuff/pseuds/Junkandstuff
Summary: “Shit…” he thought to himself, a big smile spreading across his face, barely hiding the twinge of fear behind his eyes. Barely hiding the feeling that maybe he wanted something more than just fun. Barely hiding the sudden realization that this terrible, wonderful feeling in his chest had been steadily growing all week.“I definitely need another drink…”Or - The story of two dorks meeting by chance and decide to spend the weekend of their first date together.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Building a Future Together [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060193
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

“Dammit _, heels were a mistake…_ ” Mai thought to herself.

The tall woman was leaning under an awning next to a storefront on Commerce Ave, taking a moment to collect herself. Her heel had just snapped on the cobblestone walkway. She pocketed the broken piece and swiftly removed her other shoe. With a clean motion, she snapped the other heel off, broke in the sole, put it back on and continued on her way with her newly anointed 'flats'.

It was a dreary Sunday morning in mid-October; chilly with a constant drizzle coming from the sky. While the city was normally bustling, today it seemed that most people were staying home. The street was calm, with just the sound of raindrops and the occasional car splashing by.

Mai walked with apparent purpose under her umbrella, carefully avoiding puddles, but did not have a clear destination; she was enjoying the simple calmness of the city. Her shoes weren’t very comfortable now that they were broken, but they weren't so bad that she felt the need to rush home. A few minutes passed and she felt a soft buzzing come from the breast pocket of her black pea coat.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and looked at the new message. “ _About time…_ ” she thought to herself.

**Zuko (11:17am)**

"Yeah, i’m around”

**Mai (11:17am)**

“I’m on the hill right now. I just finished running some errands and figured I’d stop by your place while I'm here.”

**Zuko (11:18am)**

“Sure, what time?”

**Mai (11:18am)**

“I can be there in 10 min”

**Zuko(11:19am)**

“See you then”

Mai turned left on the next street and started walking towards Zuko's apartment. As the blocks passed by she noted and appreciated the disharmony of color in the aging buildings. One building could be a yellow townhome with blue trim and the next would be green victorian with accents of red. The clashing colors and styles definitely kept a person's attention, but it was beautiful in a way that she couldn’t quite explain. She had always quietly enjoyed this area of the city.

Harbor Town was a town in name only. In recent years it had a bit of a population explosion and was now a decent sized city of over 500,000 people. It was becoming quite the cultural and economic hub; nowhere near the scale of Republic City just a few hours down the coast, but impressive in its own right. Despite the growth though, the city still maintained its mish-mosh of old-world charms and historic facades from cultures past.

Faster than she expected, Mai came up to a nondescript brownstone. Her face turned to the weather-worn, dark-blue painted brick, highlighted by white trim. She climbed the steps on the right and entered through the main door, shaking off and closing her umbrella as she went in.

The lobby was simple, a few mailboxes on the right hand side before the main staircase and a door on the left that led to the first floor apartment. It was warm, mostly beige with the natural wood accents characteristic of when it was built. She climbed the stairs, only pausing briefly on each landing to see if she could hear the other occupants in the building. A couple on the 2nd floor was chatting and she could hear a television going on the 3rd.

As she reached the top floor, there was a single door at the top of the stairs. Stepping onto the welcome mat she gave a quick knock.

“Come in” She heard Zuko shout from the inside.

She pulled out her set of keys and found a blue one that matched the exterior of the building. Mai unlocked the door and walked into a small entryway. She draped her coat on a nearby hook and kicked off her broken shoes, sighing a breath of relief.

Rounding the corner, she entered a large room that seemed almost out of place in the building. The modern kitchen on her right opened directly into a moderately sized dining room, with the open living space beyond. The walls were painted a crimson red with accents of black and gray. The lights were low, making the already dark room seem even darker, the only light aside from the kitchen coming from the fireplace and the bay window; but, between the plush red fabrics and the fire, the room was rather warm and cozy. A record player in the corner was softly playing a rock tune into the otherwise quiet room; the only other sound being the faint pattering of rain on the roof.

In the window sat a lone figure on a cushion, glancing out over the city through the wet glass, holding a steaming mug that he rested on a pillow in his lap. His baggy dark-red shirt and black running shorts made him look like he rolled out of bed just a few minutes ago. As he sat there, his shaggy black hair was given a silver edge from the muted light coming from outside. Obscured by the shadow of his face was an old scar over his left eye.

“You look particularly mopey today, princess,” said Mai, her deadpan was almost impressive.

Zuko shot her a harsh side-eye with a raised eyebrow while he sipped his tea. “You know you don’t need to keep knocking. You have that key for a reason.” he said, after finishing his swig and looking back out the window.

“Are you kidding me? I’d really rather not walk in and see _little Zuko_.”

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t have already seen,” he shot back with a wave of his hand.

The banter continued as she strolled by the kitchen. “Just because I've seen it doesn’t mean I want to see it again, Jerkface.”

“Nice... If you want some tea there’s a fresh pot on the stove,” it was a weak attempt at changing the conversation.

“Thanks,” She rounded the island and moved to a cupboard above the sink and grabbed a mug. She poured herself a cup from the old iron teapot and took a sip. An almost over-acted grimace spread across her face. “Tastes like shit” she quipped, her grimace quickly changing to a smirk.

Zuko huffed. “Glad you like it,” He smirked, his gaze still stuck in the distance.

Mai moved over to Zuko and glanced out at the view that he seemed to be intently focused on. It truly was a nice view, the bay window allowing for a panoramic shot of the city. In the distance, her eye followed the river from the left, only slightly obscured by the fog from the rain, over to where it emptied into the ocean on her right. Looking a little closer, she watched the quiet street below, with only a few people moving about and seeing raindrops hitting the pools of water forming by the curb. Between the two features, the city sat peacefully.

As she looked back at Zuko, she realized that, rather than a single thing catching his eye, he was taking in the whole of the view, the same way a person would admire a work of art. She paused briefly, taking another sip of her tea before sitting down next to him in the window.

“So what's been up with you?” Mai asked. It had been over a week since she was last over and she genuinely did want to catch up despite her ribbing.

“Not a lot. Things have been quiet. No news is good news I suppose”

“Well, you always did appreciate peace and quiet. Meet any cute guys?”

Another side eye from Zuko. “Nope,” he said, almost proudly.

Mai figured as much “Well, your loss for not trying. Got any new projects you’ve been working on? I find it hard to believe you’ve really been up to nothing”

Zuko perked up. “Actually yeah, I started a new charcoal drawing of Kuei Bridge. Do you wanna see it?

“Sure”

“It’s over in my office, come on”

Zuko stood up and gestured to Mai to follow with a quick nod of his head. They walked through the living room and down the hall to the second door on the left. When they went in, it was clear to Mai that Zuko had been working on more than just one new project.

By the window there were a stack of canvases, only some with paint on them, most still in the sketch phase. They were all of buildings and landscapes from around the city. Packages of paints and other art supplies were strewn about the room. On the wall adjacent to the door was Zuko’s computer. One screen had a series of charts and graphs but the other had a graphic design software open. The image on the screen was a stylized green dragon.

Zuko slid over to his drawing of the bridge, pulling it from the easel by the window. “It's nowhere near done, but I am liking how it's coming out” he mentioned, handing the drawing over to Mai. “Honestly the thing i’m struggling with most is the perspective of the shot. The low angle and the curve of the suspension cables have been hard to nail down,” he rambled.

“It’s nice, you put a lot of detail into it,” she said, handing it back to Zuko before meandering around the room. As she looked around, she noticed a few paintings of a young woman with disheveled hair tucked into a corner. The paintings were abstract and rough, but she still recognized the face of the young woman. She quickly moved over to the computer, not saying a word.

“Is this a new logo for the Dragon?” she asked, moving back over to the computer.

“Yeah, Uncle Iroh asked me to come up with a new logo and start revamping the website. That's actually the final draft” he responded.

“Good he asked you to do it, that man is as helpless with computers as you are with a teapot”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Well I’m going to go get another cup of my _shitty tea_ , you want a refill?” he asked.

“Sure” she responded, handing him the mug.

The two of them walked out of the room, Mai stealing another glance at the portraits of the young woman. As they moved back into the main room, Mai walked over and sat down in one of the stools at the island while Zuko poured them both a fresh cup of tea.

“Thanks” she said, as he handed her the mug.

“No problem”

There was a moment of quiet between them. Both awkwardly sipping their tea. Mai’s thoughts loomed on the portraits of the young woman. “How’s Azula doing?” she asked.

There was a pause. At this point she realized that the record that was playing had reached its end. Zuko tightened the grip on his mug a bit, grimacing ever so slightly. The look on his face was… contemplative? If Mai had to put a word to it, that was the best one she could muster. Right as she was about to backpedal her question Zuko took a quick sip from his mug and responded.

“She’s okay. Didn’t try to stab me last week for what that's worth.” he half-joked.

“ _Progress_ ,” she said sarcastically.

There was another pause. Neither of them said anything for another minute, simply glancing at their mugs, each silently stewing over their shared memories of the young woman. “ _Fuck this,_ ” she thought, and walked over to record player and flipped the disk. A soft crackle came from the speakers before a familiar synthesized marimba riff from the early 70s filled the room. As the opening played, Mai walked back over to the island and sat back down. Zuko looked up at her, she swayed just the slightest with the music as the piano soared over the intro. A slight smirk came across Zuko’s face and he started to sway a bit as well. They sat for a moment, enjoying the song before one of them finally said something.

“Do you want to come over to our place tonight?” Mai asked, feeling more comfortable now that the tension in the room lifted.

“Mai, it's _Sunday_ ,” said Zuko, “don’t you have work tomorrow? Also, I promised Uncle I would cover the opening shift at the Dragon in the morning.”

“I’m not saying we get shitfaced idiot, I was talking about dinner and a couple of drinks” she snapped at him. “You look like you need it to be totally honest, and Ty Lee has been begging me to invite you over for a few weeks now,” she said, her tone softening.

Zuko looked conflicted. While he enjoyed seeing Ty Lee, a not insignificant part of him just wanted to stay in and relax that night.

“Come on, we’ll keep it casual, it’ll be...nice” she insisted.

Another pause. Despite her shit attitude, Zuko knew that he struggled with saying ‘no’ to her.

“Fine,” Zuko conceded “what time do you want me to come over?”

“How does 7:00 sound?”

“Works for me.”

“Alright then, it's a date” she said with a smirk.

Zuko rolled his eyes and lightly glowered at her before smirking back.

“I should head out then, looks like I’ll need to stop at the store on my way home” she added, moving towards the entryway. Zuko got up to show her out. They moved down the hall and around the corner. Mai grabbed her jacket and threw it on with a slight twirl.

“Shit,” she muttered, looking down at her snapped heels, “I forgot I fucked these shoes up.”

“Who’s the idiot now?” smirked Zuko, this time it was Mai flashing the menacing glare.

Zuko’s eyes popped open a bit. “Hold on,” he said, walking out of the entryway and down the hall. Mai could hear muffled clanging and jostling coming from the master bedroom. A minute later and Zuko appeared again from around the corner, this time holding a pair of black leather boots. “I was cleaning out my closet and found these a few weeks back. Good thing I remembered,” he said, a smile crossing his face. Mai flashed a smile back. “Thanks, good timing”.

She put on her boots and carried her broken shoes in one hand and her umbrella in the other as she walked out the door.

“See you later tonight. And thanks for the shitty tea!” she shouted, walking down the stairs.

“Anytime,” He smiled as he closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko gets called into the shop and has a chance meeting with a certain blue-eyed dork.

Zuko closed the door behind him and walked back over to the main room. He picked up his mug from the island on the way through and sat down on the couch, listening to the music play in the background. He found his thoughts lingering on his family. The smirk on his face had flattened into a grimace. 

“ _None of this would be happening if that asshole just died a long time ago_ ” he thought to himself. “ _Azula, Uncle, ...Mom._ ”

He felt a heat rise in his stomach. A burning intensity filled his eyes as he stared at the fireplace. He felt like he could spit fire at that very moment. He realized he was losing his composure.

_“Breathe, Zuko,”_ he chanted to himself. 

Taking a series of deep breaths, the advice of his uncle came to mind.

“ _Your past is not something that you can change, don’t let it consume you.”_ He sat quietly for a moment, pushing back his negative feelings and tried to focus on the present. 

“What should I bring over tonight?” he asked himself with a sigh. He walked over to his wine rack on the kitchen counter to see what he had. Wine was going to be a hard choice; he knew Ty Lee liked sweet whites, but Mai liked dry reds. 

“ _How the hell do those two get along as well as they do?_ ” he thought, mentally noting the differences between them as he mulled over the selection of seven bottles he had on the rack. Mai was always a bit cold and calculating, her dry wit usually rubbing people the wrong way; but Ty Lee was a completely different animal - a stuffed animal, maybe, but an animal nonetheless. Before meeting her he had no idea someone could be so… _bubbly._

He settled on a bottle of chardonnay, hoping it would satisfy the both of them. Despite the differences, he knew they were both happy together. Well, Ty Lee was anyway; Mai was capable of feeling something _like_ happiness on occasion, he joked to himself. It was a classic case of ‘opposites attract’ he supposed. He was glad they found each other though, and had to that they complimented each other well. 

Deep down, a part of him did wish for that same kind of connection that they seemed to have, but he pushed those thoughts to the side. He knew a relationship was only as good as what you brought into it, and he felt that he had too much baggage to bring anything worthwhile. He never wanted to burden anyone with his past. That was his and his alone to bear. 

A regular chirping noise broke Zuko’s train of thought. He realized it was his phone over by the bay window. He quickly walked over to pick it up and see who was calling. A sinking feeling hit when he saw the caller ID. He begrudgingly answered. 

“Hi Uncle, is everything okay?” he asked, hoping dearly that the answer would be ‘yes’.

“Zuko! I need you to come over to the shop, we’re down a man and I need you to help fill in” Iroh replied, somewhat out of breath from rushing around the store. 

“Uncle, this is the third time this week. Plus I have plans to go over to Mai and Ty Lee’s place tonight. Isn’t Jin available?”

“She’s the one that called out. In any case, you’ll still be free for the evening!”

“That's not even remotely the po-” Zuko started, but he knew he wasn’t going to win this. “You know what? fine. I’m on my way.” 

“Thank you nephe-” *crash*

Zuko could hear the sound of china breaking over the phone as he was hanging up. He sat there, shaking his head. For such a wise and kind old man, his uncle was a bit of a walking disaster, and Zuko always seemed to get sucked into the middle of things. 

“ _I really need to learn how to say_ no _more often_ ” he muttered to himself, walking back to his room to get changed. 

\----------------------------------------------------

Zuko rounded the corner at a decent pace. The rain had stopped, so he had figured he might as well get a light run in if he had to rush over to the Jasmine Dragon anyway. He was about a block away when an aging neon-green sign with the cartoonish dragon came into view. As he approached, he thought about how glad he was that his uncle finally decided to update the logo. Iroh was oddly attached to it ever since they got the shop. It took a few years of wearing the old man down before he finally agreed to update it. 

He stopped right before the storefront for a moment to catch his breath before going in.

What Zuko walked into could _best_ be described as organized chaos. The place was packed and Iroh was racing between the kitchen and the dining room, carrying back as many teapots as he carried in. The large man was surprisingly nimble, especially for his age, weaving between tables as he went.

“Zuko!” Iroh shouted, “Tables 2, 3, and 7 need to be checked out, tables 11 and 14 need to be bussed and table 5 needs a small pot of Snowbud White with two cups”

“Good to see you too Uncle!” Zuko shouted back.

Without missing a beat, Zuko snagged an apron as he ducked into the kitchen, throwing a teapot on a burner. On his way back, he grabbed a dish bucket and stopped at the register to print off the receipts for the tables his uncle had mentioned.

This was a usual occurrence for him, so he was used to crisis management and working fast. His uncle always seemed to keep the tea shop short staffed though. At some level, Zuko thought that he did it just to have him around more often. While the last second call-ins frustrated him, the buzz of the shop gave him something to focus on.

Iroh had returned to the kitchen to mix an order of Boba teas for another table. In the dining room, Zuko moved swiftly about the restaurant, weaving between the tables while he dropped off checks and picked up dirty dishes. As he moved, he glanced around the restaurant to see if he noticed any familiar faces. There were a few regulars sitting in clusters around the restaurant, most of whom were Iroh’s pai sho friends, but some were regulars from the local college who came in and worked on their computers.

Hearing a faint whistle from the kitchen, Zuko ducked into the back to grab the teapot he had placed on the stove earlier. The pot was vibrating slightly from the boiling water within. Iroh gave Zuko a look of mild annoyance which Zuko made a point of ignoring (“ _Don’t over-heat the water, it bitters the tea, nephew”_ ). After pulling the pot from the burner, he grabbed a scoop of tea from a plain container overhead and tossed it in the pot's steeping basket. He pulled a tray and a cup from the storage rack to the right of the stove and put together the order. He ran out quickly to collect the checks from the earlier tables while the tea steeped for a few minutes.

Iroh had moved over to the host stand and escorted an elderly couple to the table Zuko had just bussed. He caught glimpses of Zuko as he walked about the restaurant. He felt only mildly bad about calling in his nephew last-minute. He knew that the shop was a place of focus for the young man and helped him keep busy. He would never deny that the extra help was always nice too though.

After a few minutes of checking on other tables, Zuko had ducked back into the kitchen. He pulled the steeping basket from the pot as he returned to the dining room to bring out the order. The table was situated over by the window looking out onto the street. Zuko saw a young couple, about the same age as himself, sitting there. He placed the first cup in front of the young woman. She had shoulder length chestnut hair and wore a beige blouse with a green jacket slung over the back of her chair. She was leaning back in her seat confidently.

“Hi, I’m Zuko, I’ll be assisting with your table today. Thank you for waiting” 

“No, thank you!” she said.

Zuko then turned to the man sitting opposite her and placed a cup in front of him. He froze when their eyes connected; Zuko was stunned by their color; the brilliant blue of them contrasting with his dark complexion and almost blinding smile. While the girl’s eyes were the same color, his seemed… _deeper_ , mesmerizing even, like finely cut sapphires. His dark brown, almost black, hair was cropped on the sides, but ran long on top and was tied back into a wolf-tail. He was wearing a loose fitting blue and white parka hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, which only did a passable job at hiding his athletic build. Zuko quickly composed himself before either party could notice him ogling.

“Please let me know if you need anything else” 

“Actually, can I get some sugar?” the boy asked.

“S-Sure thing, just give me a minute”

Zuko zipped back to the kitchen to grab a sugar glass. “ _Holy shit,”_ he thought to himself, glancing back at the table. Zuko took an extra minute in the kitchen to cool himself down. “ _He’s just a customer, and he’s here with his girlfriend anyway.”_ After rustling in the storage rack, he found what he was looking for and returned to the table.

“There you are,” Zuko said

“Thanks!” the boy responded “You’re so _sweet”_ he said with a wink and a confident smirk. Zuko’s eyes went wide and he could feel his face turning a deep scarlet. If his heart could melt it would have at that point. It was a dumb joke, but he couldnt hold back a nervous chuckle.

“Haha, not a problem!” said Zuko, almost shouting. The young woman just rolled her eyes and continued sipping her tea.

Zuko nearly sprinted back to the kitchen. Quietly trying to convince himself that he _wasn’t_ just being flirted with.

“ _Why would he say that with his girlfriend right there?”_ he thought. The logical part of his brain started to take back over.

“ _Relax, Zuko, he probably just jokes around with everyone.”_

He glanced back over to the table. Iroh had stepped in and started chatting with the couple, the group of them breaking out into a laugh. Zuko told himself it must just be the boy’s personality.

_“Yeah, that has to be it”_

_\-----------------------------------------------------_

The couple from earlier had paid their bill while Zuko was waiting on another table. Iroh had taken care of bringing them their check. As he walked out of the kitchen, he noticed them getting ready to leave. He and the dark-skinned man’s eyes connected as they moved to the door.

“Thanks!” He shouted to Zuko, a large smile stretching across his face. He gave an enthusiastic wave and a wink on their way out the door. A slight blush came across Zuko’s face.

The rest of the shift was largely uneventful. Things had stayed busy until after the lunch rush, after which Zuko shifted over to taking inventory and organizing supplies in the kitchen. At 4:00 the last of Iroh’s friends had left the shop, giving a polite wave as they left. Iroh promptly switched the sign over to ‘closed’ and sauntered back to the kitchen to meet up with his nephew.

“Thank you, Zuko, for coming on such short notice today,” He said. Zuko was placing tea containers back on the shelf. 

“It's fine, uncle. Just try and give me a little bit of a heads up next time.”

“Of course, Nephew”

Iroh had a twinkle in his eye and a knowing smile on his face. Zuko smirked and went back to sorting the containers. This wasn’t the first time Zuko had asked for better notice on needing to come in and they _both_ knew it wouldn't be the last.

“When you’re done organizing the tea, come join me in the dining room. I have a pot of Fujian Jasmine waiting for us.” 

“Okay uncle, I’ll be out in a few minutes”

Zuko rushed to finish. He truthfully just wanted to go home, he still had to get ready for dinner with Mai and Ty Lee that evening and that was enough socialization for one day as it was. But, he knew though that Iroh wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“ _Okay,”_ he thought to himself, “ _Just 15 minutes then I’ll head out.”_

Zuko walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Iroh was seated at the table by the window, looking out at the street. Faint sounds of traffic and conversations from the sidewalk could be heard through the window, but they were so muffled it could almost be considered white noise. It was clear Iroh had just poured the tea for both of them as there were two steaming cups in front of him.

“Take a seat, Nephew” said Iroh, gesturing to the chair opposite him. It just so happened to be the same seat that the boy from earlier sat in. Zuko wasn’t quite sure why, but that thought gave him a sense of warmth. He quickly pushed it down and refocused his attention to his uncle.

“So you said you were going to see Mai and Ty Lee this evening?” asked Iroh, as Zuko sat down. He slid Zuko’s cup over to him and took a sip of his own tea. 

“Yeah, Mai stopped by this morning and invited me to dinner at their place,” he said. “She said I looked like I needed it, whatever that means”

Iroh gave a lighthearted laugh, which caused Zuko to narrow his eyes ever so slightly. 

“Such nice girls, and good friends to watch over you like that” 

“I don’t really need to be watched over, Uncle. I’m 26 years old” 

Iroh raised an eyebrow, as if to say _‘oh really’_. Zuko averted his eyes and took a sip from his cup.

“But you’re right, they are good friends” he said, with a smirk. 

There was a pause, they both sipped their tea. Zuko glanced out the window and watched the people walking by for a minute. 

“Mai asked about Azula this morning,” said Zuko. 

“Oh? and what did you say to her?”

“That she’s doing fine, not much else to report” 

Iroh’s face flattened slightly. 

“And how are _you_ doing, Zuko”

There was a pause and Zuko winced slightly. 

“I’m doing fine, Uncle.” 

There was a hitch in his voice and tension in his words. The wise old man could tell his nephew was repressing his feelings again. While he had gotten better at communicating over the years, Zuko was still trying to shoulder their family history himself, and he could tell it was eating away at him. 

“It is okay to confide in your friends and loved ones about your frustrations, Zuko,” the older man said. There was a tense pause. Zuko tightened the grip on his cup. 

“It really isn’t though. Its family stuff, and I won’t push my problems on anyone else”

“What about me? Azula is my niece just as much as you are my nephew. We share this burden, but you struggle to share your feelings even with me.” 

“It's different, Uncle. You have the shop to worry about.” His rebuttal was half-hearted at best; a quick response to try and end the conversation then and there. Unfortunately for him It didn’t work.

Iroh furrowed his brow. His nephew was stubborn as always, but that wouldn’t stop him from voicing his opinion.

“Relying on those you love for support is not weakness, Zuko. In all aspects of life, a burden carried by many is a burden made lighter for all” 

“I can handle it myself, Uncle. I don’t want anyone to have to carry even part of this” 

Iroh paused for a moment, carefully thinking about his next words.

“You should consider that your loved ones may gladly carry some of this weight if it means keeping it from crushing you.”

Another moment of quiet came over the room. Iroh quietly sipped his tea, waiting for his nephew’s response. Zuko sat there, staring at the swirling teal leaf fragments settling at the bottom of his cup. Deep down, he knew his uncle was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. 

“I- I just… I don't know if I can. Not with you, not yet at least. And it's not just you, it's anyone...” Zuko was rambling, unable to find the words to explain how he was feeling. 

Iroh could see the conflict in his nephew’s eyes. He wouldn’t push the issue any further. At least not today. When he spoke next it was with calmness and understanding.

“Well then, when you are ready to talk to me, I will be here. But if not me, I hope you find another you can share your feelings with soon,” Iroh said. 

Zuko could sense a cryptic undertone to his Uncle’s words, as if he was discussing a completely different topic with him. But that was par for the course with Iroh, so he let that feeling slide away. 

“Thank you Uncle. I should get going. I need to go get ready for tonight.”

“As always, it was wonderful chatting with you,” Iroh said with a smile.

He hugged the young man as they stood up. “See you tomorrow morning, Zuko,” Iroh said with a smile. “Yeah, see you tomorrow”

Iroh gave a small wave to Zuko as he left. He meandered back to his seat to have another cup of tea before locking up. As he walked back to the table, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his robe. He felt a piece of paper and pulled it out. 

_“Oh dear, I forgot to give this to him”_ he thought to himself, glancing back at the door with a faint hope that Zuko was still just outside. His nephew was well on his way though. 

Iroh had tuned the paper over in his hands to inspect it. The paper was handed to him earlier by a young man in a blue sweater who asked him to deliver it to his nephew. On it was a phone number, a small doodle of a smiling wolf, and a simple message:

_“Call me!_ _-Sokka”_

_“I’ll just have to give it to him tomorrow,”_ thought Iroh, a large smile across his face as he sat down and poured himself another cup of tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of angst at the beginning and end, a little bit of Sokka in the middle. Its a Sokka Sandwich! As for Zuko, largely his issues were worked out on a surface level years ago, however, he still struggles with stress and feels the need to keep a lot of his thoughts private and not dump on the people around him. I hope this came off in the chapter. I really tried to make the detail noticeable to the reader in his dialog but subtle enough so that it wasn't outright exposition that says everything about him and his history (aside from a line here or there explaining his struggle/headspace).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Zuko's dinner date with Mai and Ty Lee!

Zuko sat in the backseat of a car, watching the buildings pass by in silence. Mai had said that things would be casual tonight, so he wore a simple black shirt and jeans with a dark red waxed jacket. A bottle of chardonnay was cradled in his arm. He felt a slight buzz from his phone and pulled it out of his pocket. 

“What’s your ETA?” Mai had texted him

“About 7:15, sorry i’m running late, my uber ended up getting turned around”

“No problem, we’re just hanging out until you get here” He stuck his phone back in his jacket pocket and sat quietly for the rest of the ride.

About 20 minutes later Zuko arrived at Mai and Ty Lee's townhouse. It was a nicely sized end unit in a complex on the north end of the city. While technically walking distance to downtown, it was still a bit of a hike. It was a quiet area though, and Zuko knew that's why they picked it. 

As he stepped out of the car, the brisk air cut through his jacket. He breathed deeply, the cold air stinging his lungs. The breathing centered him though, and let him push out the cold. He walked up the steps to their door and gave a firm knock. He could hear quick footsteps racing through the house before the door flew open. 

“ZUKOOOOOO!” Ty Lee shouted, leaping onto him as she jumped out the door and into the young man’s arms. She was a small woman, but surprisingly strong, knocking Zuko back a few steps. He was lucky he didn’t drop the bottle of wine. 

“I missed you so much! It’s been so long!”

“Ty, I literally texted you yesterday” He said, with a slight smile on his face

“That's still too long,” She said with a fake pout, hopping out of his arms.

Mai appeared in the doorway. “Come inside guys, you’re freezing me out.”

Zuko tossed his jacket on a bench next to the door and kicked off his shoes. The front door opened directly into a large living room with a vaulted ceiling. The stairs on his right went up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. A fireplace was crackling next to the couch and lounge chairs in the living room, an up beat song was playing on their speaker by the hallway to the kitchen. The girls had set up a charcuterie board on the coffee table with spiced dumplings, edamame chips, akkawi cheese, and some assorted fruits and crackers.

“You guys didn’t need to set this up,” Zuko said. Ty lee shot out from behind him and scampered into the kitchen. Zuko raised an eyebrow as she rounded the corner out of sight. 

“And you didn’t need to bring anything,” said Mai, gesturing to the bottle of wine in his hand. 

“As if I’d show up empty handed.”

A minute later, Ty lee skipped out of the kitchen with three wine glasses in her hands, humming as she went. “Let's get this party started!” she shouted, slamming down on the couch and dropping the glasses on the table.

\----------

A few drinks later and the three of them were feeling pretty loose. The conversation was flowing easily and they were losing track of time. They were all a little flush in the face and the board of food in front of them was half empty from their tipsy munching. Ty lee had just finished telling them about a prank involving a cake frosted with toothpaste at work. That somehow got Mai and Zuko arguing over the finer details of the relationship between frosting and cake. 

“Of course it’s part of the cake!” shouted Zuko “Like, it completes the package”

“Angel Food, Devil’s Food, Sponge, Butter, Corn Cakes! None of those have frosting!” Mai shouted back

“I Never said frosting  _ was  _ cake, I said it was part of it. And besides, Devil’s food and Sponge cakes usually  _ do _ have frosting!”

“I think Zuko is right, sweetie” Chirped Ty lee, a wicked grin on her face.

“Oh sure, take _his_ side.”

It was a dumb, pointless, alcohol-fueled argument, but it was fun nonetheless. Ty Lee was laughing hysterically, content with sewing chaos into the conversation. She took a break from stoking the flames and ran back to the kitchen. “ _How can she keep drinking like that?”_ he thought briefly. It was at least the 4th time she had bounced off to the kitchen for more wine. When she returned, she had a fresh glass and a phone in hand. Mai took notice of the phone and gave her girlfriend a quick wink before butting heads with Zuko again. A few snide comments and Mai had him wrapped around her finger again.

“I will literally prove to you that they do have frosting,” he said. Getting up from his seat. He ran around the couch over toward the front door and grabbed his jacket.

A sinking feeling hit Zuko as he felt around the jacket for his phone. 

“Shit. Shit! SHIT!” shouted Zuko as he fumbled through the pockets. All of them were empty. 

“Let me guess, I was right? Huh, dumbass?” Mai shouted at him from around the corner. 

“No, I think I left my phone in my uber”

He was frantically rummaging through his pockets. “ _Fuck”_ he thought “ _how could I be so_ stupid”. He glanced up at the two of them. Mai had an odd grin on her face. Ty lee had her face buried in her- wait no, it was _His_ phone.

“Ty…?”

“ _Hmmmmm_?”

“Did you grab my phone out of my jacket?”

“... maybe” she said, grinning from ear to ear. 

“What the FUCK, Ty?”

“I’m just having a bit of fun,” she winked.

Ty lee hopped up off her chair and bounced over to zuko, grabbing his arm. Zuko tried to snatch the phone back from her. They tousled for a minute before she slipped away. 

“I’ll give it back in a minute, just sit down first”

Zuko was out of breath trying to chase down the rather nimble woman, “ _fine”_ he said, coldly. 

She quickly led him back to the couch. Zuko sat next to Mai, and Ty lee sat on the other side of him, handing his phone back to him. It was unlocked, a list of names was on the screen with a small flame logo in the top corner. Zuko immediately recognized the dating app. She must have installed it at some point because he swore, albeit half-heartedly, that he would never use it. 

“It's time we found you a man, Zuzu” Ty lee said

“ _Again_ with this crap” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I told you I don’t really want a relationship right now”.

He was only half telling the truth. A part of him did want one, or at least wanted the chance at a _normal_ one, it just wasn’t the right time. Between Azula and helping his Uncle he was dealing with a lot and really didn’t want to share _things_ with people at this point. He wasn’t sure if he knew what _things_ were exactly, be they personal space, free time, or feelings, but he did know he needed to work on getting comfortable with sharing _things_ before he dove into something like that.

“We’re not saying ‘ _ relationship’ _ here Zuko, we just think you should do some…casual dating. You know, for fun” Mai cut in. 

“You’re in on this too?!”

“Well yeah, we were hoping it would help get that stick out of your ass”

He paused for a moment staring wide-eyed at the woman. “Why do I hang out with you two?” he said, putting his face in his hands.

“Because you love us” Ty lee chirped back

“Ugh....”

“ _They just_ love _fucking with me”_ he thought to himself. He figured he would entertain them for now and just drop it later when he went home. He was surprised by the sudden snatch from Ty lee. She grabbed the phone back and started navigating through the menu. She shoved the phone back into his hands.

“Here’s your profile, I already set it up for you.”

“Oh really?” he said coldly

He thumbed through his profile. The pictures were largely standard fare, some from their vacation to the beach last summer, others from his apartment that Ty Lee had snapped while they were hanging out. There was a somber tone to most pictures, those were the more artistic ones. Pictures like him staring out of windows or looking out over the ocean, there were only two where he was actually smiling. 

“You could have at least made me look less... brooding”

“That would have been false advertising” Mai quipped

“Oh I don’t want to hear it from  _ you  _ of all people”

“Hey, this isn’t about me, princess”

Ty lee cut back in and tapped on the menu.

“I’ve already taken the liberty of making a few matches for you too,” she said, a big grin on her face.

“I really don’t have a say in any of this, do I”

“Nope!”

Zuko rolled his eyes and quickly scrolled through the matches. There were more than a few; the list, in fact, scrolled on for a while. 

“This is a lot more than a  _ few _ , Ty. How long have you had my phone?”

“Since you got here.” 

Zuko’s jaw fell open. “It was when you jumped on me, wasn’t it?”

“No, actually when you put your jacket down,” she said proudly. 

“Ugh…” 

Well at least now he knew why she kept going back to the kitchen for refills. He turned his eyes back to the phone and kept scrolling down the list. The girls happily pointed out profiles they thought were cute, asking him if he was interested.

“What about him?”

“No”

“This one? He’s a surgeon!”

“Not really interested in people who stab others for a living” he said flatly. 

“Really? That sounds like it would be your type.” 

His eyes fell on a small tile with a blue border that had a dark-skinned boy with a brilliant smile. “ _No way”_ he muttered to himself, absentmindedly tapping. 

“What’s ‘no way’” Ty lee cut in, taking a look at the screen. “Ohhhhhhh, he’s HOT” 

Mai peeked over as well “Yeah, if you’re into that kind of thing, I guess” she huffed.

“He actually super-liked you a little while ago” Ty Lee added.

Zuko stared at the profile. He kept staring, on and on, for what seemed like an unreasonable amount of time. He couldn’t believe it. It was the same guy from the Tea shop earlier that day.

“Do you know him or something?” Asked Mai

“Yeah- er, well, no- uhh, kind of?”

“Out with it already”

“I ran into him at the Dragon today. He might have made a pass at me, but I thought he was just joking around”

Mai and Ty Lee's eyes went wide. They quickly looked at each other and then back at Zuko. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU HAD A SOLID 10 HITTING ON YOU AND YOU LET HIM WALK AWAY?” Ty Lee shouted. 

“I thought he was there with his girlfriend!”

“Not an excuse!”

“Yes it is!”

They went back and forth like that for a solid minute. Zuko eventually stopped trying to defend himself and just turned back to his phone and started scrolling down the profile. He took note of the name: ‘Sokka’. His mind lingered on it for a minute. He wasn’t sure why exactly, maybe because it wasn’t a name he’d really seen before. Regardless, he _liked it._ He moved on to the profile. 

“ _25 y.o., South Pole Pride. Working in Harbor Town as an engineer. Polar Bear-Dog person (but I love Fire-ferrets too!). Will try anything once. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I’m a rather Punny guy”_

_ “ _ That is so  _ corny _ ,” he muttered quietly. A smirk was on his face. 

“Get your head out of your pants and message him already. It's just for fun after all.”

Mai’s words cut through him.

_Just for fun._

There was a twinge in his chest. A relationship was out of the question for him. But, maybe - just maybe - something casual could work. Something that would let him _feel_ like he had that connection he wanted, but not scare that person away with the skeletons in his closet. And at that thought those old feelings of insecurity flooded back into his mind.

“ _I’m not even sure if he’s interested in me”_ he thought to himself. 

And then it hit him. “ _Wait, he matched with me”_ It was proof of interest at the very least. “ _He… matched… with me?”_ The thought was almost surreal. The fog of his self doubt seemed to lift, just the slightest. 

He had wondered why that would even be the case. His profile didn’t make him look particularly cheerful, so he doubted it was his personality. And when it came to looks, Zuko had never really thought he was particularly attractive. Not bad, maybe, but he knew his scar was definitely off-putting for a lot of people; no one would recoil in front of him, but he was used to the looks of pity he would get from strangers. He honestly forgot about it most of the time, only to be reminded when people would give him a sad look or take split second glances to the left half of his face. That annoyed him more than anything. 

He found himself back on Sokka’s bio. _You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take_. It was a corny quote, but it stuck out in Zuko’s mind. He knew that things he wanted wouldn’t just happen without any kind of work. He was lucky enough to have _matched_ with the guy. Maybe it was up to him to actually take the first step. He wasn’t sure if he believed in signs, but if there were ever a time to start, now would be it. 

Before Zuko had even realized it, he had the chat tab open on the app. His fingers were hovering over the keyboard, not sure what to type. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is planned to be the first part of a larger series. I'll be updating tags as the story progresses. Rated Mature for adult language and situations, but there won't be any nsfw content. I largely started this as a creative outlet while my husband was traveling to take care of a family issue and I was stuck working through the pandemic and its kind of grown from there. This is my first fic and I'm not a writer by any means, but as I got into it, the flow of writing and re-writing became easier for me and now I'm looking to just take the story as far as I can and have fun with it/practice my writing. At some point I realized that I was riffing on my past experiences with dating and meeting my husband, so this became something a bit more personal. Let me know if you like it! Oh, and bonus points if you can guess the song playing in Chapter 1.


End file.
